Case Number 18778

Cocoon (Blu-Ray)

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All Rise...

Judge Clark Douglas wonders how long it will be before his alien brethren return to take him home.

Editor's Note

Our review of Cocoon, published September
27th, 2004, is also available.

The Charge

It is everything you've dreamed of. It is nothing you expect.

Opening Statement

"Men should be explorers, no matter how old they are."

Facts of the Case

Art (Don Ameche, Things Change), Ben (Wilford Brimley, Did You Hear About the Morgans?), and Joe
(Hume Cronyn, Lifeboat) are aging men
residing in an assisted living facility. Frequently, the guys like to sneak off
to a little-used nearby rental property and enjoy the luxurious swimming pool
there. One day, they notice that there are some very large rocks of sorts inside
the pool. It makes no difference to the guys; as long as they don't get caught,
they're happy to continue using the pool regardless of whether rocks are sitting
at the bottom. Then something unusual happens: after the swim, all three men
feel particularly energized.

You see, the "rocks" are actually cocoons containing aliens from
another world. A long time ago, the cocoons were unintentionally left in the
bottom of the ocean. Now, some aliens named Walter (Brian Dennehy, Presumed Innocent) and Kitty (Tahnee
Welch, I Shot Andy Warhol) are on a mission to find all of the cocoons,
place them in the swimming pool for safekeeping and then take them back to their
home planet. In order to do this, they employ the services of a goofball boat
owner named Jack Bonner (Steve Guttenberg, Short Circuit), who starts to fall for
Kitty before realizing her true nature.

The three old men attempt to keep their knowledge of the pool with the
life-enhancing rocks under wraps, but word inevitably gets out and more people
begin to flock to the "fountain of youth." Are the new physical
abilities a blessing or a curse? Will the aliens get the cocoons back home
safely? Will any humans accompany the aliens on the journey to outer space? Find
out the answers to these pressing questions and more in Cocoon!

The Evidence

Ron Howard's Cocoon may not be a great film, but it's a warm and
affectionate one with some fine performances and some charming special effects.
It also manages to slightly transcend the "geriatric comedy" genre it
falls into, because the senior citizens in the film seem like real human beings
rather than saggy stereotypes (bad pun intended, unfortunately). Much like Clint
Eastwood's Space Cowboys, the film
is warm-hearted sci-fi less interested in otherworldly gobbledygook or jokes
about the elderly than in the complicated feelings of the characters at the core
of the story.

Not that we're denied otherworldly gobbledygook and jokes about old people,
since those are the items that tend to sell tickets. It's just that the film
seems less interested in these things. In the humor department, this is a
blessing since we're spared additional scenes along the lines of Don Ameche's
break-dancing sequence or his declaration of, "You got a boner, too?"
In the sci-fi department, this is a slight problem, as the aliens in the film
aren't particularly distinct or compelling in any way. They're just a plot
device, their personalities defined by the needs of the story (despite the
considerable acting talent of Brian Dennehy and the considerable beauty of
Tahnee Welch).

As I indicated, the film is best when it focuses on the emotions of the
central characters, from the unexpected joy of discovering that their bodies
actually feel good again to the sorrow of realizing the many complications that
come with such a "fountain of youth" actually existing on earth. One
of their friends (Jack Gilford, Caveman) refuses to permit himself to be
made to feel young again, insisting that it's unnatural and that everyone has to
play the cards they've been dealt. Alternately, Ben tells his skeptical wife
that, "considering the cards we've been dealt, I'm okay with re-shuffling
the deck."

Though the very charming Don Ameche won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for
his turn as Art, Wilford Brimley's performance is the strongest and most
compelling part of the film for me. There's a terrific scene in which Ben and
his young grandson go on a fishing trip and have a nice chat. The image is
tremendously familiar in a Norman Rockwell-ish sort of way, and Brimley is
perhaps the only actor who could utter the line, "Me and your grandma,
we're going to outer space," in such a wonderfully down-to-earth way. I
also like Hume Cronyn's work as a man whose re-invigorated body leads him to
revisit some of his old vices (namely, cheating on his wife). The behavior leads
to some very fine scenes between Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, who informs him in no
uncertain terms, "I'm happy you're going to live, but I need to live,
too."

The image is rather stellar, rarely becoming genuinely exceptional but
always getting the job done in a satisfactory transfer. The special effects
sequence come close to providing some real pop, but otherwise the transfer just
offers a natural, warm image with solid detail. Flesh tones are warm and
accurate while darker scenes benefit from good depth. There's a minor, pleasing
layer of grain present throughout the gives the film a natural filmic look.
Audio is a bit less satisfying, as James Horner's inspiring score has evidently
suffered from some damage (take a listen to how wobbly the notes sound around
the 50-minute mark). It comes through with reasonable strength and is
well-distributed, but unfortunately not-so-well preserved. Dialogue is mostly
clean and clear, while sound design is less ambitious than usual for a
big-budget sci-fi outing like this.

Supplements are all ported over from the previous special edition DVD: a
(rather good) commentary with Ron Howard, five very brief featurettes
chronicling the making of the film (they run about 20 minutes combined) plus
some tv spots and trailers.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Two words: Steve Guttenberg. Pretty much everything involving the actor tends
to be eyeroll-inducing at best and flat-out agonizing at worst.

Closing Statement

Cheesy yet charming, Cocoon remains a smile-inducing experience while
ranking well-below Ron Howard's finest achievements. The Blu-ray doesn't do much
to encourage one to upgrade, but the reasonable price point should offset that a
bit.